About

The story of Memel.Global

Memel.Global draws on decades of practical experience to strengthen Memel and the township of Zamani by maintaining an array of responsive sustainable programs that target the economic and social well-being of the community.

Focusing first on empowering women and girls to transform their community and meet social needs, Memel.Global provides suitable housing for families and the elderly, while supporting health, primary education, sports, and the arts.

The employment and economic needs of the community are addressed with jobs training, use of new building techniques, development of housing projects, introduction of new agricultural practices, establishment of new private-sector enterprises, and the development and promotion of ecotourism.

Memel enriches visitors and volunteers while serving as a model community that provides a window into the development process for curious professionals in relevant fields.

Meet some of the people behind Memel.Global.

Meet some of the people behind Memel.Global:

Steven Ablondi

Before founding Memel.Global, Steven worked in a number of capacities with the UN and non-governmental organizations. Together with his wife, Cindy Burns, he served in humanitarian operations in Cambodia, Bosnia, and central Africa. Steven also brings a law degree and a background in commercial real estate development to his work in South Africa.

Cindy Burns

Cindy worked for humanitarian organizations in Africa and southeast Asia before joining the UN system. She then worked with refugees in Cambodia, Haiti, and Bosnia before becoming Senior Policy Advisor at UNHCR (the UN refugee agency) in Geneva. She was later UNHCR country representative in Uganda while undertaking other missions to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Bryan Bowen

Bryan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and is a principal architect at Caddis PC, a multidisciplinary design collaborative in Boulder, Colorado. Bryan has been designing cohousing communities since 2000 and has taught green building techniques at Naropa University. He brings his interest in cohousing and energy-efficient affordable housing to his work with Memel.Global.

Bright Mariko

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Bright moved to South Africa as an adult. In 2009, he visited Memel and met Steven and Cindy. They immediately saw how they could put Bright’s talents as a cabinet maker and carpenter to use as they were building Memel’s cohousing community and Zamani’s micro community. Since that time, Bright has served as the head of construction for Memel.Global.